Florida Seafood at Your Fingertips: Live!
Michael Sipos, Collier County Agent [email protected], 239-252-4825 Date of recording
African Pompano Ceviche
What you will need: 1-1½ lbs African pompano (most white flesh seafood could be used as a substitute) ¾-1 cup lime juice (approximately 6-8 limes) ¼ red onion ¼ sweet yellow onion ½-1 jalapeno pepper 1/3 cup cilantro 3 cloves of garlic 1 avocado ½ cucumber 1 tablespoon olive oil ¼ teaspoon black pepper 1 ½ teaspoon Kosher salt A sprinkle of paprika
Difficulty of recipe: Simple
Total time to make: 30 minutes preparation, 45 minutes – 3 hours of “cook” time
Disclaimer: This dish is “cooked” chemically through the denaturation of protein that occurs when seafood is exposed to the low pH conditions of lime juice. There are certain microbial and parasitic risks when consuming sashimi or ceviche. When consuming potentially raw seafood, the FDA recommends freezing the flesh at -4 F for 7 days prior to preparing to minimize the risk of consuming active parasites. Although these dishes are delicious, special consideration should be taken by at risk health groups if enjoying “raw” seafood.
Recipe instructions: 1. Quarter the red and yellow onion and chop to a rough diced texture. 2. Chop cilantro to get approximately 1/3 cup volume with little to no compression. 3. Peel and mince 3 cloves of garlic. 4. Mince ½-1 whole jalapeno pepper depending on desired level of heat. Removing the seeds from the pepper can also greatly reduce the amount of spice tasted in the dish. 5. Halve 1 avocado, scoop the flesh from the skin and cut into a cube like consistency. To prevent the avocado from becoming mushed by the eventual mixing, it may be added prior to serving the dish. With a firmer fleshed fruit, the avocado can be stirred in lightly with all the other ingredients. 6. Peel the cucumber, scoop the seeds out from the inside of the vegetable to be discarded. Cut ½ of the cucumber to a cubed consistency. 7. Squeeze and roll 6-8 limes prior to cutting and extracting juice. Juice the limes using a citrus juicer or press. If fresh limes are not available, bottled lime juice may be used as a substitute or to supplement. About ¾-1 cup of lime juice is required for this recipe. 8. On a separate cutting board with a sterilized cutting implement designated for preparing seafood, cut the 1-1.5 lbs of cleaned and washed African pompano fillet into ½” cubes. 9. Measure out ¼ teaspoon of black pepper, 1½ teaspoon Kosher salt and 1 tablespoon olive oil. 10. Place all ingredients mentioned in steps 1-9 into a bowl, food storage container or a 1 gallon ziplock bag and gently mix ingredients until contents are evenly distributed. 11. Place your ceviche into the fridge for approximately 45 minutes – 3 hours to “cook” larger fish pieces may take longer for the lime juice to completely undergo the process. Lightly stirring the mixture once or twice during the “cooking” process can help ensure all the fish have been exposed to the lime juice and reduce wait time. 12. When the ceviche is ready, scoop the mixture in a bowl and lightly sprinkle paprika for added color and flavor. Ceviche can be served with chips, tostadas, lettuce leaves or just enjoyed with a fork! This tangy, refreshing dish is perfect for a summertime snack!
Florida Seafood at your Fingertips Species Profile: The African pompano (Alectis ciliaris) belongs to the family Carangidae which includes pompanos, jacks and a few other members. Although Alectis Ciliaris is commonly referred to as a pompano, they do not belong to the genus of true pompanos Trachinotus which includes more familiar family members like Florida pompano and permit. African pompano can be found worldwide in tropical seas and in Florida are often inhabit offshore reefs and wrecks schooling mid water where they feed on fish and invertebrates. Juveniles of this species have long threadlike projections from their fins that resemble jellyfish tentacles which are thought to deter predators. The International Game Fish Association (IGFA) world record African pompano was caught in Daytona Florida in 1990 and weighed 50lbs 8 oz!
Where to buy: It can be difficult to find this tasty species at the seafood counter in major grocery chains as they are often caught as by catch by commercial hook and line fishermen. Your best bet is to check your local fish house and ask about their availability in requesting this unique fish! Once you try it, African pompano will quickly become one of your favorite fish to eat!
How to catch: African pompano are renowned gamefish and like many species belonging to the jack family, put up a great fight! In Florida schools of African pompano can be found offshore on deeper wrecks and reef bottom more dynamic vertical relief. These fish can be caught near these structures while trolling, jigging, or by drifting with live or dead bait. Since they often travel in schools, multiple hook-ups are not uncommon however targeting African pompano can be difficult as other pelagic fish may snatch up your bait first! Currently spearfishing for this species is allowed in federal water and is another common method for targeting these fish. For the most up to date regulations regarding harvest of African pompano please consult: http://www.eregulations.com/florida/fishing/saltwater/
Sustainability: The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed African pompano as a species of least concern. More information should be gathered regarding the population of this species however African pompano in Florida are not heavily exploited by commercial fishermen.
Seafood cost: Inexpensive to moderate depending on which species you chose to use for the recipe! Most species of frozen white fish would taste great prepared in this fashion.
Final Talking Point(s): Ceviche is a dish that has been adopted by many Latin American cultures and each has their own recipe or variation. If you think it tastes good, add it in! The same can be said about the quantity of the ingredients to include when following this recipe. The seafood used for ceviche doesn’t have to be limited to fish, using shrimp in ceviche is also popular and equally delicious. Ceviche is a great seafood meal that is prepared by mixing ingredients and sitting back which can be done by an individual with any experience level.
Florida Sea Grant plug: consistent message at the end of each presentation – suggest we all end with the same formatted slide and/or image with link to our webpage.